Vintage Cars Will Now Be Futuristic, With Aston Martin's New Reversible Electric Powertrain

As the mandates around pollution control from automobiles increase, the governments around the world look set to phase out IC engine vehicles altogether. While that is not really a problem, considering they will mostly be replaced by electric cars (and hence will instead be a ‘solution’), there is a particular section of fossil fuel run vehicles that simply cannot be replaced by battery packed vehicles. After all, you cannot replicate the decades of heritage of ‘classic’ or ‘vintage’ cars.

Enter Aston Martin. A company that has a long lineage of classic cars, and not to forget, their respective owners as its customers. “We are very aware of the environmental and social pressures that threaten to restrict the use of classic cars in the years to come,” Andy Palmer, Aston Martin Lagonda president and chief executive says. So as the owners of the vintage cars pondered if their so called ‘classics’ will be reduced to the confines of a museum, Aston Martin came to the rescue, interestingly, with batteries.

Aston Martin

The solution is quite simple actually. Since IC engine are the cause of worry, why not replace them with a reversible electric powertrain. That means the conventional engine is removed while a battery and a motor is added. Rest everything remains the same, mostly to retain the vintage look and feel.

So what will change?

The driving experience. As is the common difference between electric powertrains and IC engine vehicles, the new battery powered classics will be much more silent and compared to their previous selves, probably as silent as a rock. There will be no need of gear shifts and of course, in all probability, there will be a drastic increase in speed and acceleration.

With the conversion, the company will also bring back its “cassette” electric powertrain, for the first time after 1970, when it was used in the DB6 MkII Volante.

The Original 1970 DB6 MkII Volante (Aston Martin)

“Sitting on the original engine and gearbox mountings, the cassette is enclosed within its own self-contained cell,” Aston Martin said in its announcement. “Umbilical cords from the power unit then feed the car’s electrical systems. Power management is operated via a dedicated screen, which is discreetly fitted to the car’s interior.”

Any problems?

Not really, except you'll have to charge the batteries before use, as opposed to turning the key and driving off. But for now, that seems to be a necessary compromise, considering this might be the only way to keep the classic cars in operation in the coming years. And just in case the legalities change in the future, the electric powertrain is completely reversible. For this, the cars will still have their exhaust pipes, rev-counter and even a fuel gauge.

Aston Martin

Aston Martin hopes that this conversion will also appeal to an entirely new class of car enthusiasts and might just give a whole new definition to the faction of car collectors. After all, it was a similar, electric-powered Jaguar E-Type Concept Zero that carried the royal couple - Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, during their royal wedding.